Saturday, May 30, 2015

It is great to be back in Ilheus, Brazil visiting our Ursuline sisters and brothers. It is hard to believe that it has been over three years since the last visit. As mentioned, yesterday was spent at Piedade. We enjoyed a tour of Piedade's museum that holds many historic treasures from both the school's past and the town of Ilheus. Hearing about the Ursuline's rich history and their impact on communities raises a sense of pride. Before the Ursuline sisters came to Ihleus in 1916, girls did not have access to formal education.

Just a little later in the day, our Ursuline students got their official introduction to all of the students. They presented information about St. Louis and UA to a full auditorium. It was nice to be able to have this opportunity near the beginning of the trip. Hopefully both students will continue to feel comfortable to approach and engage with each other.

Ursuline and Piedade students listen to Anarleide, one of the coordinators of Piedade, as she talks about the history.

Today was our first full day of being in Ilheus. I woke up to a beautiful view of the city
from my bedroom window. It was different
because I was awake before my host student (Larissa) because they don’t start
school until 1:30pm so they can sleep in.
Before going to school we had both breakfast and lunch.

We
went to the school and presented about ourselves and the city
of St. Louis. We presented to the high
school students and they were fun to present to.

Student Presentations

After our presentations we hung out around
the pool at the school which had a great view of the ocean. We stayed until the sun set going behind the
hills.

Ursuline St. Louis with Ursuline Ilheus at Piedade

We had a small tour of the school
and learned a lot about the history of the school and country. After school let out we got to see what the
students do when they wait for their rides.
Here they cannot drive until they are 18 years old. Throughout the day, the UA girls spoke about
the differences between the two schools, which are a lot. The day was very fun and tiring. Today was only our first day and we feel like
we have been here longer due to all the things we have done and tried. I love it here and I am so happy to be
here. It makes it better that I already
knew my host student before because of her visit with her school this past
fall. Her family is great and though
they do not speak English we are still able to communicate through motions and
Google translate.

So far this trip has been a great experience. I tried passion fruit juice today for the first time, and it tasted really good.

Enjoying juice and conversation while waiting for lunch

I found it really interesting that they start school at 1:30 pm and go until 6:50 pm. They also go to school on Saturdays, so their weekend is only one day on Sunday. I like their time schedule, but I would not like a one day weekend. We zip-lined today and the view from above the beach and ocean was beautiful. I cannot wait to see what else the trip brings! :)